UOYOU HNEA GOOD REASON TO PAY MORE?

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CHUCK LINK director

AX MACHINES are being used in l- many ways. Retail dealers reported using facsimile machines to send and receive purchase orders, ad slicks, bids, basic information to customers and suppliers, engineered drawings of trusses, credit checks and quotes.

Users of fax machines voiced the following reactions to their use in the retail lumber industry: faster than maill more accurate than verbal; would be very hard to do withoutl cost is reasonably low; easy to use, excellent communication tool; everyone should have one; guarantees proper communication; time and money saver; greatest thing since computers; an absolute necessity; fantastic; greatest thing since sliced bread. lf you are interested, we now have Panafax machines available to all members of the association at special member prices. Call us for information.

Did you know your fax machine can improve cash flow? A fax can speed up the time it takes to process credit applications and approve new orders. In many jurisdictions, faxed signatures are legally binding. Credit reference information can also be faxed.

Fax also can speed up the settlement of credit disputes. For example, when customers claim their accounts do not reflect their payments, request that they fax a copy of their cancelled check. l-'inally, you can fax delinquent account information to collection agencies for immediate handling. (Source: Credll Management Resources, Minneapolis, Mn.)

A caution: buy the right paper for your machine and buy your fax paper from a reputable source. The "Have-lGotta-Deal-For-You" boys have quickly picked up on the fax paper market.

FRED CARUSO executive secretary

Il OME center consultant Joe SamullI in will speak at the MSLBMDA Management Conference in Denver, Co., this November, according to conference program ctrairman George Gotto, BMS, Lamar, Co. His topic is "How to Grow Your Business in a NoGrowth Area."

Samulin will discuss strategies for independent building material centers to capture their share of the $ I 0l .3 billion home improvement market. Specific topics include: visual merchandising, advertising, sales and inventory planning and keeping and increasing contractor sales.

The topics of two additional sessions come under the theme "The Big Picture." The first one is a look at how international marketing is transforming the American economy, by business specialist M. Gene Aldridge of Denver. Practical examples will be given for the future of American business. New opportunities and important indicators of economic change in the next decade will be discussed.

Second, "Where Are We Going and How Do We Get There? " is a big picture look at managing financial and human resources by retail consultant Richard Outcalt, Seattle, Wa. Dealers are encouraged to bring their latest financial statement to this session, for their eyes only, to look at new ways of measuring their financial strength and projecting what it will look like a year from now.

Gotto said that roundtable discussions among dealers on specific topics and panel presentations will be a major part of the program. "We have plenty of tafent to tap among our own organization," he said.

The Management Conference will be held Nov. 9-10 at the Hyatt Regency Denver Tech Center Hotel.

WAYNE GARDN ER executive vice

I F SOMEONE has an idea about I tomo,ro* or next year that sounds somewhat off track, they could be called a dreamer.

Our connotation of dreamer is that person who walks around with his head in the clouds. Talk to them. They respond to your questions with what most consider to be incomplete sentences. The entire thought isn't expressed. Part of it is missing, usually the middle portion.

It's frustrating to most mortals to be around that type of person. Our response, when someone asks about them, is "Oh, they are ok, but kind of a dreamer. Probably won't ever amount to much."

You always hope they will kind of stay away, not ask for a job or, worst of all, be around long enough for a daugh- ter or son to fall in love with and want to marry.

Then we have that same type person, but who speaks in complete sentences and seems more positive, or at least talks in terms that you and I can almost understand. That person, in our minds, becomes a futurist or a visionary and generally really impresses people.

Interesting, isn't it, that two people can have similar ideas, but because of background, age, education or whatever, we label one a dreamer and the other a visionary?

Three cheers for the dreamer. Dreamers don't talk about how bad things are or how bad they are going to get. Dreamers can be in a situation that is less than satislying and dream or have hope for the future. And that hope or dream becomes a goal, a sell fulfilling prophesy. But it's always good. Better for them and better for the world and mankind.

The visionary, on the other hand, can be the one whose prophecy is that there will be a down turn in business, a drought will hit in 1994, the great earthquake will strike in l0 years and on and on. Some of the predictions, some of the visions, some of the forward thinking is absolutely on lrack and gives us an opportunity to prepare for something which is highly possible. lf yoLr bclicve in your busincss and want to build it ADVERTISE.

The dreamer also can give us some insight into the future. By listening, looking, analyzing, sorting, sifting and using our own inherent decision making processes in a logical, orderly fashion, we can gain immensely lrom the dreamer.

Just think where we might be were it not for the dreamers like Franklin, Edison, Einstein and Salk, to name only a few.

Maybe we really need to encourage more dreaming. So I say three cheers for the dreamers. They are a lot more f,un than the visionaries. Let's have more dreamers in the lumber industry and fewer "that's the way we have always done it and that's the way it's going to be tomorrow."

Heaven help us. Let's give three cheers for the dreamers.

Home CenterMerchant

(Continued from Page 22) updated or amended in 1989. Shearson Lehman Hutton is promoting a service for review and update plans without "professional costs."

Some Innovative Show Items

Cinchy - Rope tie down, one-size-fitsall bungie cord replacement.

Hampton LockerCombination lock with compartment. in designer colors.

Grip and StripWire stripper from Ideal.

Paint StickFrom Power-Flo Products.

Bulb ChangerExtension pole bulb changer from Mr. Longarm Inc.

TorpedoLED torpedo level from Zircon International.

Exacut Knife System - Heavy duty trimming knife from Fisco.

Systems Lok - Security for portable items from Patrick Manufacturing.

When sending in a change ol address please include zip code on both old and nev' addresses and either the old label or the inlbrmation .from it. Thanks !